The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,

Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)

01-060

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE AS TOOL FOR AN EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE DESIGN.

AN EXAMPLE IN THE SOUTH OF SPAIN
Aurelio PREZ MARTN Industrial Engineer1
1

Chief Executive Officer, SAVENER Proyectos de Ingeniera, s.a., Avda. de la Innovacin, Edif. Arena 2, 1
Planta, 41020, Sevilla, Spain, aurelio@savener.com

Keywords: global, multidisciplinary, efficiency, optimisation, to redefinition, bioclimatic, integration,

sustainability.

Summary
The project for a building developed by SAVENER presents a solution which is most efficient, sustainable
and adapted the environment which houses the seat of a Foundation and the headquarters for an enterprise
group. It is located on a plot on the banks of the Guadalquivir River, in Coria del Rio, Seville, Spain.
Obtaining a high standard of efficiency in using resources regarding this project was obtained fundamentally
thanks to three aspects: 1) The Work Model is based on using a multidisciplinary team and on an orderly
evolutionary feedback process in the search for solutions from the design beginnings, 2) The use of
Bioclimatic Architecture, High Efficiency Systems, Renewable Energy and Residual Reuse, 3) and lastly the
complete development of the entire process through a Global Perspective which helps us in finding an
optimal union and not a union of optimisations.
The design and analysis of the results were made using the best tools available on the market and others
developed by our team. The final analysis of our project yields a 76.2% improvement in CO2 emission in
respect to the referenced building.

1.

Initial Information

There are three initial points for developing of a project with these characteristics. Firstly, the surrounding
climate which we can take advantage of and which we must control in this instance. Also, the Capacities
Program, what accommodates the building and what we need to satisfied correctly. Lastly, a Work Model
and a multidisciplinary team, which through taking a Global perspective in making decisions, reaches a
perfect and efficient harmony between the surroundings and building requirements, providing maximum
sustainability and an example for future constructions in these latitudes.
1.1

Climate

Coria del Rio is located at 39.59 N, 6.32 W and enjoys a temperate Mediterranean climate with Oceanic
influences, with long warm summers and temperate winters. The year type average considered in the
analysis was obtained by stochastic process, starting from values 25 years back. The area where the
building is located borders the Guadalquivir River, which acts as a shock absorber for the temperatures in
the zone, creating a concrete microclimate characterized by the following values:

SUMMER'S
MONTH
June
July
August
September

WINTER'S
MONTH
January
February
December

Figure 1

Average
Daytime
Temperature
(C)

Average
Average Dry
Nightime
Temperature
Temperature
(C)
(C)

Average
Direct
Radiation
(W/m2)

Average
Diffuse
Radiation
(W/m2)

Average
Relative
Humidity
(%)

25,7
29,8
29,5
27,2
Average
Daytime
Temperature
(C)

19,6
23,4
22,7
26,8
22,9
26,8
21,3
24,4
Average
Average Dry
Nightime
Temperature
Temperature
(C)
(C)

354,0
419,0
374,0
298,0
Average
Direct
Radiation
(W/m2)

121,0
121,0
118,0
129,0
Average
Diffuse
Radiation
(W/m2)

53,0
48,4
49,5
54,3
Average
Relative
Humidity
(%)

160,0
186,0
143,0

94,0
115,0
88,0

74,4
69,5
76,3

12,9
14,1
13,3

9,0
9,9
9,5

10,7
11,9
11,1

Average climatologic Data for Coria del Rio, Seville, Spain.

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The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,

Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)

1.2

Capacities Program. Intelligent Distribution.

The building room allocation plan, which conform to the areas created, goes beyond just a list of necessary
areas. It is derived from the necessity for proper fulfilment of the buildings use and activities, to reach
optimum sustainability and to use the building as a reference in sustainable construction.
The correct distribution and location of areas according to their activities and necessities affects the
efficiency of the building as much as a bad installation could. For this reason, they were analysed through an
SLP system (Systematic Layout Planning) for their optimum relation and distribution. With this method,
triangular matrices were formed to evaluate the interrelation of areas. This work voted on independently by
each of the design team members and later, through a weighting algorithm the suitable distribution of areas
was established.
1.3

Work Model

The way to carry out a project with these characteristics influences sustainability and final efficiency as well
as an inadequate orientation could. We created a multidisciplinary team with diverse professionals and
companies having diverse disciplines which were necessary during the development was made. The team
had not only to be multidisciplined, but also to work under a model that favours taking advantage of their
knowledge and synergies for optimum results. To this end, we proposed a solution making system based on
constant feedback, brain storming, work sub-teams, exhibitions, debates and more, with rigorous means of
development protocol and under the Project Directors responsibility.

2.

Architecture

The Architecture of the building was conceived from the initial information (Climate and Room allocation
plan) and using the work model previously described. The result was a building perfectly adapted its
surroundings, which it uses as an ally.
The building is made up of three floors: a basement floor, where company offices are located; the ground
floor, where activities related to the buildings Foundation are mainly located; and the first floor, where the
management area is located. The total area of the building is 3,109 m2: the basement floor, 1,470 m2; the
Ground floor, 1,268 m2; and 371 m2 on the first floor.

Figure 2

Volumetric three-dimensional Simulation of the building with basement, ground and first floors.

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The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,

Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)

2.1

Bioclimatic Aspects

The first step was the proper orientation of the complex. The building faces South, deviated 15 East, which
allows thermal gains and natural ventilation of the facades. The wind normally blows from the Southwest
most of the year, except for January and February, when it comes from the Northeast. The building places
the normal of the facades at a 30 angle to the wind, which avoids turbulence and generates correct
ventilaton the facades, allowing the wind to access different areas of the building.
In the building, the wall conductivities and window fraction were exhaustively controlled. The values of the
thermal conductivity (W/m2K) for the main elements are: 0.61 for outer walls, 0.42 for the roof, 0.45 for
green coverage and 2.4 for windows. Walls were designed having great internal inertia and with insulation
to the exterior.
Window fractions (m2 Glass/m2 Facade) that were considered according to the direction of the facades are
the following: 15.7% to the North, 50.2% to the South, 17.3% to East and 20.1% to the West. Solar
protection was suitably done such that thermal gains take place in cold months, and in summer months, the
light that enters is diffused and we avoid most thermal gain.

Figure 3

South Faade

In one section of the building we can observe (figure 4) an open area, that connects the three floors in an
atrium-chimney, this chimney opens to the outside through an automated vent and is crowned by an element
with a parabolic form which generates a nozzle effect that helps to extract interior air independent of the
winds direction. This system helps the internal ventilation and thermal regulation of the building. If the wind
does not blow and the chimney effect is necessary, a fan is activated. Despite the differences in micro
densities, it is sufficient to cause air movement.
Enterprise group offices are located on the basement floor, and therefore the majority of people are there.
This floor opens to the south via three patios of great dimension. Patio design went through a rigorous
analysis process with thermo-hygrometric variables so that they behave as bioclimatic motors on this floor
and throughout the building.
Vegetation, misting and sheets of water regulate the microclimate of the patios and the interior conditions on
this floor.
Solar protection and vent design encouraging natural ventilation and thermal regulation are controlled by a
centralized system which acts according to information from different sensors distributed throughout the
interior and exterior of the building.
The global structure of the complex fosters the integration of thermal solar, photovoltaic and wind (vertical
turbines) energy.
2.1.1 Winter Behaviour
During this period, strategy was based on suitable insulation, high inertia that allows using low heating
temperatures, thermal gains and on minimum fresh air intake with passive preheated air.
The building was configured according to the previous idea so that it would be able to take advantage of
sunrays as a thermal gain strategy in cold months. Vegetation in the patios on the basement floor are
deciduous, which allow sun access to the office area this time of year.
The chimney vent is kept closed most of the time, except for exhaust necessary for air renewal. For this
reason, we are able to avoid unnecessary heat loss. Furthermore, air necessary for ventilation is preheated
using the ground as a centre for thermal interchange. At 2.5 deep, the ground temperature on location is at
an almost constant 15.6 C. Exterior air is pushed by a photovoltaic fan through an underground tube at the
stated depth, preheating it to avoid any peak loads from exterior cold. Preheated air enters through vents
below the areas, allowing us to approach ideal temperature and avoiding extreme stratification.

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The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,

Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)

Figure 4

Winter Bioclimatic Behaviour.

The basement floor is where the greatest internal load is presented, since it is used the most. It is under
ground to avoid external heat gain, except in winter. Thanks to the south patios, major solar heat gain is
obtained. The ground has very high inertia, which at the same time facilitates control and regulation of inner
comfort conditions that use low temperature heating systems.
2.1.2 Summer Behaviour
In the summer months, the sun is at a high altitude and at this time internal thermal gains are not of interest.
The strategy is to use suitable green cover, high thermal inertia in the facades, adequate solar protection,
microclimate and natural ventilation.
Sixty percent of the roof is green cover with a 10 cm water layer which generates great thermal inertia. In
these latitudes, 70% of the building thermal load enters through the roof. Because of this, a green and
ventilated photovoltaic roof was the strategy to improve thermal inertia and insulation.

Figure 5

Summer Bioclimatic Behaviour

The chimney vent is open most of the summertime and due to wind, variation of micro densities and / or the
fan, it generates circulation reaching air even from the basement floor, generating a suitable degree of
ventilation and air conditioning.
By evapo-transpiration and shade effect, the vegetation and water in the patios generate a cool microclimate
at the foot of the building. The fresh air enters through the basement floor by automatically regulated vents
situated at the base of the facades. Air goes throughout the entire building and is exhausted through the
chimney rising when its temperature increases. This system exhausts most excess building heat.

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The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,

Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)

In order to facilitate the entrance of cold air and improve ventilation and thermal regulation, the previously
mentioned ground interchange system is again used. In this case, hot air from the outside circulates through
an underground interchange network, cooling the air before it enters the building. This cool air enters at the
height of interior spaces allowing its smooth and ideal stratification.
2.2

Partial results

At this point of the project development, and only toying with a suitable distribution of areas according to
activities, suitable orientation, adapted epidermis, suitable passive ventilation systems, suitable green areas,
adapted use of the water as a cooling element and a global perspective at the time of making decisions, our
building reached an improvement in power use on the order of 47.2%. These calculations were done by
simulation and assessment software, called CALENER, which will be put into effect this year (2005) by the
Spanish Government and whose calculation kernel is DOE2.

3.

Facilities

The instalations were conceived in the most efficient and adapted ways to the different areas of the building,
considering that we started from a building which through passive systems and intelligent adaptation to the
environment, presents remarkably less resource demands than a traditional one of the same type. In the
following sections, some of the characteristics of several of the facilities in the building are shown.
3.1

Air Conditioning

The air conditioning system used is different depending on the activities and uses of the areas and how
these were situated within the building structure developed to this point.
The cooling system used on the basement floor, where the thick of offices occupied by 56 people is located,
is a combination of a passive ground interchange system and an active roof-top system with an enthalpic
recoverer. During most months needing cooling, the thermal difference for comfort in this region is not very
high, owing to the excellent location and bioclimatic design. Consequently, the cool air that comes from the
subterranean interchange is enough. When the difference cannot be reached by the underground
interchange, air is not introduced directly into the building, but taken to an air conditioning unit which
contributes the required thermal difference to the desired temperature of comfort.
We are able to employ lower power conditioners, since they must only provide a smaller thermal difference
and work less hours. Most days, the desired temperature can be obtained with the passive underground
interchange system.
The rest of the systems for the different areas were designed using conventional systems that have
enthalpic recoverers and free-cooling capacity. All systems are low powered in comparison to the ones used
in conventional buildings with the same application. This is provided by the correct integration of architecture
with the environment.
Taking advantage of the high thermal inertia characteristics that our building presents and a climate where
winter yields a high degree of radiation, a solar energy radiated floor heating system supported by a biomass
boiler, is used. In the office area, fresh air does not enter at exterior temperatures, but is introduced from
below in the areas, preheated by our underground interchange system.
kWh
140.000

Reference Building

SAVENER Project

129.856

120.000
100.000

92.670

80.000
60.000

60.730
53.310
37.317

40.000

16.195

20.000
0
Refrigeration

Heating

Illumination

Power Necessities

Figure 6

Annual power consumption differences, between SAVENER project and the reference building,
for Cooling, Heating and Lighting.

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The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,

Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)

Through a global perspective, the development combines bioclimatic architecture with efficient facilities
lending greater power savings in air conditioning, thus we attain a savings of 59% in Cooling and 60% in
Heating. The total energy consumed in air conditioning per year is equal to a value of 90,628 KWh.
3.2

Lighting

The multidisciplinary work team allowed us to be constantly developing simulations of inner lighting during
the design process. This conceived not only bioclimatic architecture but architecture that facilitates natural
interior lighting.
The efficiency of the building lighting system was based firstly on our work model which generated a
building that needs less artificial light and secondly on the use of efficient lights, using of low consumption
lamps and a suitable control and regulation system.
Some lamps used in the building are: fluorescent T5 with built-in electronic ballasts, high intensity unloading
lights (ceramic technology) and compact flolurescest mercury lights.
The building lighting is controlled by timer or light and motion sensors, depending on the area.
All these aspects provide a power savings of 73% in lighting, in respect to a conventional building, and were
obtained in great part as a result of the adapted building design in a global perspective during its
development.
3.3

Water

Water is an important element in the microclimate necessary to smooth-over exterior conditions. The global
perspective tells us "save wate to save energy". Having water without negative impact to the Environment
can help us to improve comfort conditions in the building interior naturally, and in this way diminish air
conditioning energy consumption.
The building, primarily used for offices, grey water reusability is usually discarded because the volume is so
low. Nevertheless, a rain collection and storage system that supplies the irrigation and toilet systems of the
building is installed. The total potable water savings is 58%.
3.4

Renewable Energy

The combination of the renewable energy with architecture and power needs of the facility was a clear
strategy for reaching the highest degree of sustainability in the building. Low temperature thermal solar
energy, photovoltaic energy, wind and biomass power were integrated.
Thermal solar energy is considered for heating sanitary water and for heating water used in sub floor
heating system. Using this system, we substitute 80% of the energy necessary for sanitary water and 40%
in energy necessary for sub floor heat.
Biomass is used to contribute energy the sun cannot provide as much for heating sanitary water as heating
in general. The biomass burned in the boiler are olive pits, which are very abundant in this region.
Another point is that we installed 20 KWp photovoltaics that produce 8% of the annual energy our building
consumes throughout the year.
Also 8 vertical 800W wind turbines are installed. The energy generated by the turbines corresponds to 4% of
the annual energy the building consumes.
Although this self generated energy proposes 12% of the total energy the building needs, it is not destined
for auto consumption, but is sold to the public network, allowing us to buy a greater percentage of energy for
the building.

4.

Conclusions

In order to reach clear conclusions on the building, we need not only to demonstrate that it was developed
under a suitable work model, perspective and multidisciplinary team. It would not even be enough to reach
conclusions, demonstrate that concrete aspects, particular facilities or specific systems work efficiently either.
We would have to demonstrate that it is the union, with all its interacting elements, working in the most
optimum and efficient way.
For this, we need to globally simulate and it is here where certain problems arise. Simulation tools are many
and varied, they exist in the market or in development, but none of them is able to contemplate all the
aspects, and much less all the synergic effects among them.
Our building was put under analysis of many of its aspects through diverse tools through which it is possible
to emphasize TRNSYS and FLUENT, although many others for more specific control of certain elements like
thermal bridges, shades, condensations and more, were used.
In spite of this deep analysis and that the result of each tool was satisfactory, we cannot guarantee nor say
that our building is more or less sustainable than another, and even if we could, we could not quantify how

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The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,

Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)

much more or less sustainable it is, and even if we achieved it, we would still have to be able to say that we
could change for being more or less sustainable and which of the changes more or less affects the
sustainability of the union.
We are at an entertaining point, where we work quickly in search of the "universal equation" that can really
measure under a global perspective the true level of sustainability in a construction.
In Spain the tool that will be used is CALENER (which takes effect this year, 2005), and it is with this tool
that we worked and qualified the level of sustainability of our building, measured in CO2 emissions, in
respect to a reference building.
In the following figure (Figure 7) a table in which the percentage of decrease in CO2 emissions can be seen
in respect to a reference building.
CO2 Emissions (Reference Building)

Tn CO2 / year

CO2 Emissions (SAVENER Project)

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
1

CALENER Simulation Stage

Figure 7

Qualification of diverse accumulated improvements made in the building using the CALENER
programme.

CALENER Simulation Stage

1
2
3
4
5
6

Figure 8

Description
SAVENER Initial Project
"1" + Efficient Illumination
"2" + High Inertia Wall
"3" + Photovoltaic
"4" + Wind Energy (4% of total consumption)
"5" + Green Roofs = SAVENER Final Project

Significance of the different steps shown in Fig. 7.

As can be appreciated in the previous graphs, an initial building is defined in which several of the elements
are not included which our building does, when evaluating it our building obtained an improvement of 60.6%.
When we add the elements that we eliminated, we observed that the building continues improving, but not in
the same proportion for each element.
The Final Project shows an improvement measured in CO2 emissions of 76.2%. We can say that our
building is a 76.2% better than other conventional ones with the same characteristics, or that it consumes
76.2% less, or that it is 76.2% more sustainable, or other things, and all these things would be good and / or
bad.
What is certain, is that the Global Perspective as a work model and the analysis of the questions raised in
this article are a guarantee for a highly sustainable construction independent of whether it can or cannot be
measured.

References and Participators

Ortega Rodrguez, M. / Ortega Rodrguez, A. 2001, Radiant Surface Heating and Cooling.
Yez, G. 1988, Solar Architecture, Passive Aspects, bioclimatism and natural lighting.

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The 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference,

Tokyo, 27-29 September 2005 (SB05Tokyo)

Junta de Andalucia, Public Work Council and Transports 1997, Architecture and Climate in Andalusia,
Design Handbook.
Alvarez, S. / Lopez de Asiain, J. / Yannas, S. / Oliveira Fernndez, E. 1991, Architecture and Urban Space,
Proceedings of the Ninth International PLEA conference, Seville, Spain, September 24-27, 1991.
Herzog, T. / Krippner, R. / Lang, W. 2004, Fassaden Atlas.
Schmitt, H. / Heene, A. 2002, Hochbaukonstruktion.
Client: Fundacin Fernandez Salgado
Colaborators: Torrens, Marta P., Urban Architect, Seville, Spain. / Prez Diaz, Aurelio, Mining Engineer,
Seville, Spain.
Collaborating companies: Lled Iluminacin, s.a., Madrid, Spain / MX arquitectos, Seville, Spain / Sofytel,
Seville, Spain / Andalusian Energy Agency (SODEAN), Seville, Spain.
Development Group: SAVENER Proyectos de Ingeniera, s.a Prez, Aurelio (Engineer) / Effern, Armin
(Architect) / Hidalgo, Francisco J. (Engineer) / Martinez, Amador (Engineer)
Special thanks go to Michelle Sigrid Kremser, Seville, Spain, for her help with the English text.

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